Thursday, February 10, 2011

Tilapia Milanese

From Food Network Magazine, March 2011

4 6-ounce tilapia fillets
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3 large eggs
6 slices white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
1/3 c. fresh parsley leaves
Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon, plus lemon wedges for serving
5 to 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 cups baby arugula

1. Preheat the oven to 425. Soak the fish in a bowl with the milk and 2 cups ice, 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the flour with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Lightly beat the eggs in another dish. Pulse the bread, parsley, lemon zest and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor until crumbs form, then transfer to a third dish.
2. One at a time, remove the fillets from the milk and dredge in the flour, shaking off the excess. Dip in the eggs, then coat with the breadcrumbs, gently pressing to coat both sides. Transfer to a large plate.
3. Line a baking sheet with foil. Heat 2 tablespoons each olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 fillets and cook until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining 2 fillets, adding 2 more tablespoons each olive oil and butter. Transfer the fish to the oven and bake until cooked through, about 8 minutes.
4. Toss the arugula with the remaining 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve the fish with the salad and lemon wedges.

I love tilapia and used to make it differently but liked this recipe way more than the other one I have. And Olivia ate almost a whole fillet. I couldn't find any arugula at our store so we just had cooked carrots, apples, and baguettes (thanks again Sydney!). It was really good!

5 comments:

  1. Sounds delish! We had tilapia last Thursday night as well, unbreaded, seasoned with a blend of citrus spices, served with wild rice and cooked carrots. Luke usually scowls a bit when he learns we're having something from the sea...but when he's finished licking his plate, he remembers fish is ok:)

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  2. Tilapia is like the chicken of the fish world :) You can do so much with it! I have a recipe for fish tacos with tilapia (or any other white fish) that I'll post.

    Did you find that you had a lot of extra breadcrumbs, Tiff or was this just about right?

    Lisa, what was your citrus blend?

    At our favorite restaurant In the UAE, they served fresh arugula along with other salad greens on a mezza plate (their version of chips and salsa). Our Egyptian friend informed us that it was "natural viagra" :) Apparently arugula is an aphrodisiac.

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  3. Yes, I had a lot of leftover bread crumbs. Did you try it? And Lisa and Sydney, I'd love your recipes as well. I love that I get can get Olivia to eat fish if it's tilapia. Other kinds seem to be too fishy.

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  4. I haven't tried it but it seemed like 6 slices would make a lot of crumbs--our tilapia fillets are usually pretty dinky so maybe they're not quite 6 oz.

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  5. Success! I've never made fish before, and I was feeling like the only one who hadn't, so I made this last night. It was DELICIOUS and everyone cleared their plates! Good thing too, since I bought a bag of the fillets at Sams Club...now I'm glad we have more for another night.

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